Tandem
by Mysteriousreader1990
Summary: Everything is shiny, especially in this war zone. I do have moments of clarity though, but what I witness in those moments of clarity, it makes me want to retreat into the shiny world forever. Because in there I can't hurt, not like this. Peeta's thoughts as he watches Gale and Katniss interact.


**Tandem**

 **Hi all. This is a short one-shot from in Peeta's POV. Set in time of the Mockingjay book, at the time of the rebels trying to take over the capitol. Galeniss – AU – Angst, with a bit off fluff thrown in.**

 _ **Peeta POV.**_

Everything is shiny, especially in this war zone. I do have moments of clarity though, but what I witness in those moments of clarity, it makes me want to retreat into the shiny world forever. Because in there I can't hurt, not like this.

I was in a moment of clarity, and I was watching them, Katniss and Gale. Two halves of one soul. That's what they were.

People told me over and over that she loved me, maybe she did, but that was before the hijacking. Now, I will never be the same, I would never come back to her, and to protect her heart, she chose him.

They move in tandem. In perfect sync. I guess that's the result of years of hunting together, they know each others patterns and moves without even making eye contact. He steps, she steps. She looks left, he looks left. Something threatened to kill her, he threw his body over hers to protect her. Tandem.

Maybe it was my imagination, but her movement s always seemed unnatural around me, robotic, like they were forced. Was she that way with him, once upon a time?

I never understood them together. Their 'relationship' is fiery, they annoy the hell out of each other, and I never got why they stuck together. How did they manage to hunt together for years, and not shoot one another? I already knew the answer to that once though, Katniss was too gentle, when it came to other humans. It destroyed her having to kill all those innocents in the games.

"Kiss my ass, Hawthorn," she snapped, as they came back to the living room with a small pile of food. The rest of the group laughed.

"With pleasure," he quipped.

"Pig!" she said, chucking a can at him. He caught it easily.

These were the moments that I couldn't understand. Why do they choose each other, if they infuriate one another so much?

"Oh my god!" Katniss exclaimed, my heart skipped a beat. She hastily grabbed up a tin and ripped it open easily with her knife. She grabbed her make shift spoon and spooned a lump of the contents into her mouth. She almost purred with happiness. She looked so beautiful in that moment. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"This is the lamb stew I was telling you about, the stuff that I was addicted to before the games." I saw pain flicker on Gales face as she reminded him of the horror that she'd faced. She missed it though, she was to busy getting another spoonful of the stew.

"You have got to try this." she said, and he lent forward and let her feed him it. My heart panged painfully in my chest.

"That is awesome stew, " he said, "I need some more!" she nodded and gave him another spoonful, only she missed his mouth, and it ended up on his face, and all down his uniform. She suppressed a laugh.

"Oh, you think that's funny do you?" He smirked.

"I'm sorry," she barely managed to choke out as she laughed.

A moment later, he lunged at her, and knocked her to the floor. I suppressed the urge to grab my gun, with great difficulty, and watched the scene unfold.

He was on top of her, rubbing his face on hers, so that she got covered in the stew too.

"OK. Truce." she laughed. He rolled off of her, and pulled her up. They seemed completely oblivious too their surroundings, everyone was watching them. It made my stomach churn at the fact they were able to find a small moment of happiness in the midst of a war. These were the moments when I got it, their relationship.

"It's hard not to watch them, isn't it?" Finnick said as he plonked himself beside me. He handed me a tankard of water and I took a long pull.

"Isn't it just," I replied sarcastically.

"She'll come back to you, buddy" he said clapping my back.

"No, she won't, she needs him, he's the only stable thing left in her life."

"Mate, you're gonna get better," he tried again.

"Maybe, but I'm not stable enough for her. She's ill herself, she needs someone to lean on, to help build her back up. And I can't do that, not any more. She doesn't have the strength to be my pillar, and I don't have the strength to be hers."

"So that's it?" he said with disbelief.

"It's what's best for her. I can't help her recover, he can. You seen the way he acted when I attacked her. The guy was furious and petrified at the same time. He was almost at safety, and he went back for her. He loves her completely, with all that he has.

"Yeah, but you would've done the same. Peeta, you love her just as much."

"Maybe, but I can't be what she needs. She needs that kind of protection, now more than ever, and I may have been able to provide that in the past, but not now. I'm still sick, and there's every chance that I could attack her again. I was lucky, he didn't pulverise me the last time. Next time he may not have a choice.

"If I loose site of reality again, and attack her, he may have no choice but to kill me, and if he does do that, well then she'd never forgive him, and she'd lose everything.

I can't be with Katniss, too much is at risk. I'm staying away to protect her." I said stubbornly, Finnick sighed heavily.

"Well for what it's worth. I think that you can be what she needs," he clapped my back before going back over to his spot to settle down for the night.

His word were ringing in my ears. It was possible that they were true. But I also knew my own mind. My recovery wasn't imminent, and she needed someone stronger for her own recovery, and no matter how much I wished that I was the right man for the task. I knew it was Gale. It would always be Gale.

 **A.N. My first every Hunger Games fanfic. Came to me whilst I was trying to sleep. I hope you like it, let me know in a review.**


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